Kumasi — To ensure violent-free elections this year, the Ashanti Regional Police Command has begun the process of ensuring peace before, during and after the elections.

As a result, the Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Augustine Gyenning, over the weekend organised a peace march that brought together all the major political parties in the region.

The two-hour peace march started from the Central Police Station and ended at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium.

The political parties that undertook the peace march included the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), the leading opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), People's National Convention (PNC), Convention People's Party (CPP) and United Front Party (UFP).

The chairmen for the parties took turns to address the peace walkers, who comprised the police, the military, Prisons Service, Fire Service and supporters of the political parties.

DCOP Gyening reminded the political parties and the entire people of Kumasi that as human beings, we all can never belong to one political party or one grouping, saying, "it is only animals that normally move in one group or same direction, but for human beings, it would be difficult to do so," and appealed to all to tolerate each other's views.

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Fred F. Antoh, commended the Police Commander for organising the peace walk.

According to the NPP Chairman, since the inception of the 4th Republic, they had never seen open police involvement in a peace process like the said peace march initiated by the Regional Police Command.

Mr. Antoh expressed confidence that the police would be able to sustain the peace in the country.

The opposition NPP Chairman noted that to belong to a particular political party was about ideologies, and not about war.

He said he was expecting that this year's electioneering campaign would be on issues and not insults.

The NDC Regional Chairman, Mr. Yaw Obimpeh, taking his turn, accused the media of creating disunity among politicians, by unnecessarily blowing issues out of proportion.

He said the media had been trained professionally to present news that are healthy for human consumption, but not things that would go to further disintegrate the country.

Mr. Obimpeh, therefore, advised the media to avoid publishing or airing insults from politicians, in order to save the country from chaos.

Other speakers included the CPP Regional Chairman, Mr. Abdul Rahaman, and Nana Agyenim Boateng of the United Front Party (UFP).